The ARRL Contest Update Newsletter
News and Techniques for the Active Operator
(Formerly the Contester's Rate Sheet)
Contester's Rate Sheet for February 25, 2004
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Contester's Rate Sheet
25 February 2004
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Edited by Ward Silver, N0AX
SUMMARY
o Go a "bit" crazy - NAQP, DARC, and Ukraine RTTY/Digital contests
o NCJ News by Carl K9LA
o Ham Radio - on the public airwaves
o New products from Array Solutions and Productivity Resources
o IARU HF Championship Records updated by K5KA
o On-line S-meter Web site
o K4OJ, Silent Key
BULLETINS
o No bulletins this issue.
BUSTED QSOS
o Logs for the 10-10 International Winter Contest can be emailed to
tentencontest@alltel.net (Thanks, Steve N0WY)
ANNOUNCEMENT & NOTICES FOR 25 FEBRUARY TO 9 MARCH 2004
Logs are due for the following contests:
February 25 - ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes, email to:
JanuaryVHF@arrl.org, paper logs and diskettes to: January VHF, ARRL,
225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, USA
February 28 - Hunting Lions in the Air, email to:
rad.handfield-jones@pixie.co.za, paper logs and diskettes to: The
HLITA Contest Committee, Lions Club of Midrand, PO Box 1548, Halfway
House 1685, South Africa
February 28 - Midwinter Contest, CW, email to: jckoekkoek@home.nl,
paper logs and diskettes to: PA3GQG, Contest Manager Midwinter
Contest, Keulenheide 1, 6373 AP Landgraaf, The Netherlands
February 28 - Midwinter Contest, Phone, email to: jckoekkoek@home.nl,
paper logs and diskettes to: PA3GQG, Contest Manager Midwinter
Contest, Keulenheide 1, 6373 AP Landgraaf, The Netherlands
February 28 - CQ 160-Meter Contest, CW, email to: 160cw@kkn.net, paper
logs and diskettes to: CQ 160-Meter Contest, 25 Newbridge Road,
Hicksville, NY 11801, USA
February 28 - AGCW Straight Key Party, email to: htp@agcw.de, paper
logs and diskettes to: Friedrich W. Fabri, DF1OY, Moselstrasse 17b,
D-63322 Roedermark-Urberach, Germany
February 29 - SARL Field Day Contest, email to: admin@sarl.org.za,
paper logs and diskettes to: SARL Field Day Contest, PO Box 1721,
Strubensvallei 1735, Republic of South Africa
March 1 - BARTG RTTY Sprint, email to: ska@bartg.demon.co.uk, paper
logs and diskettes to: (email only)
March 1 - Vermont QSO Party, email to: (no email), paper logs and
diskettes to: Steven Board, KA1LHZ, Vermont QSO Party Coordinator,
Central Vermont Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 1817, Roxbury, VT 05669,
USA
March 1 - Mexico RTTY International Contest, email to: xe1j@ucol.mx,
paper logs and diskettes to: Jose Levy, XE1J, Direccion de Concursos
FMRE, Clavel 333, Colima, Col 28030, Mexico
March 1 - RSGB 1st 1.8 MHz Contest, CW, email to:
1st160.logs@rsgbhfcc.org, paper logs and diskettes to: RSGB G3UFY, 77
Bensham Manor Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey CR7 7AF, England
March 3 - UBA DX Contest, SSB, email to: berger@cyc.ucl.ac.be, paper
logs and diskettes to: Michel Le Bon, ON4GO, UBA HF Contest Manager,
Chee de Wavre 1349, 1160 Bruxelles, Belgium
March 8 - FYBO Winter QRP Field Day, email to: azscqrpions@covad.net,
paper logs and diskettes to: John Stevens, Attn: FYBO, 21457 N. 91st
Dr, Peoria, AZ 85382, USA
March 9 - QRP ARCI Winter Fireside SSB Sprint, email to:
wb5khc@2hams.net, paper logs and diskettes to: Tom Owens, WB5KHC, QRP
ARCI Contest Manager, Attn: Fireside SSB, 1916 Addington St, Irving,
TX 75062-3505, USA
The following contests are scheduled:
Note that the following abbreviations are used to condense the contest
rules summaries:
SO - Single-Op; M2 - Multiop - 2 Transmitters; MO - Multi-Op; MS -
Multi-Op, Single Transmitter; MM - Multi-Op, Multiple Transmitters; AB
- All Band; SB - Single Band; S/P/C - State/Province/DXCC Entity; HP -
High Power; LP - Low Power; Entity - DXCC Entity
HF CONTESTS
North American QSO Party - RTTY - sponsored by the National Contest
Journal from 1800Z Feb 28 to 0600Z Feb 29, 2004. Frequencies: 160 -
10 meters. Categories: SOAB and M2, 100 W power limit, SO operate a
maximum of 10 hours (off times must be at least 30 min). Exchange:
Name and S/P/C. Score: QSOs x States + Province + NA DXCC countries
(counted once per band). For information:
http://www.ncjweb.com/naqprules.php. Logs due Mar 14 to
rttynaqp@ncjweb.com or Wayne Matlock, K7WM, Rt 2 Box 102, Cibola, AZ
85328, USA
CQ WW 160-meter SSB Contest, 0000Z Feb 28 - 2400Z Feb 29. Exchange: RS
and S/P/C. Categories: SO-QRP (<5 W) -LP(<150 W) -HP, MO categories.
The DX window 1.830 - 1.835 MHz has been restored. Enter as MO if
packet or spotting nets are used. QSO Points: own entity - 2 pts, same
continent - 5 pts, diff. cont. - 10 pts, /MM stations count 5 points,
but no multiplier. Score: QSO points x states + VE call areas (VY0
added this year) + DXCC entities (KH6 and KL7 count as DXCC only). For
more information: http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com/infoc.html. Logs due
by 31 Mar to cq160ssb@kkn.net (Cabrillo format only) or CQ 160
Contest, 25 Newbridge Rd, Hicksville, NY 11801.
UBA Contest - CW, sponsored by the Royal Union of Belgian Amateur
Radio from 1300Z Feb 28 - 1300Z Feb 29. Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters,
according to the IARU band plan. Categories: SOAB, SOAB-QRP, SOSB, MS,
packet is allowed for all classes. Exchange: RST and serial number, ON
stations add their province abbr. QSO Points: QSOs with ON stations -
10 pts, with other EU - 3 pts, outside EU - 1 pt. Score: QSO points X
ON provinces + ON prefixes + European DXCC entities counted once per
band. For more information: http://www.uba.be/. Logs due 30 days after
the contest to berger@cyc.ucl.ac.be or Michel Le Bon, ON4GO, UBA HF
Contest Manager, Chée de Wavre 1349, B-1160 Bruxelles, Belgium.
REF French Contest - Phone, sponsored by the Reseau des Emetteurs
Francais, from 0600Z Feb 28 - 1800Z Feb 29. Contact French stations
including Corsica, Overseas Territories, and EU Council station TP2CE.
Frequencies: 80 - 10-meters. Categories: SOAB, MS, and SWL. Exchange:
non-French stations send RST and serial number, French send RST and
department number or prefix. QSO Points: different continent - 3 pts,
1 pt otherwise. Score: QSO points x departments and prefixes counted
once per band. For more information:
http://www.ref-union.org/concours/. Logs are due April 15 to
cdfssb@ref-union.org or Reseau des Emetteurs Francais, REF Contest, BP
7429, 37074 Tours Cedex, France.
North Carolina QSO Party - CW/Phone - sponsored by the Forsyth Amateur
Radio Club, 1700Z Feb 29 -- 0300Z Mar 1. Frequencies (MHz): CW -
3.540, 3.740, 7.040, 7.140, 14.040, 21.040, 21.140, 28.040, 28.140,
Phone - 3.860, 7.260, 14.260, 21.360, 28.360 and any VHF/UHF, note no
160-meter QSOs. Categories: SO, Mobile, Club, all stations 100W max.
output. Mobiles may be worked again as they change counties. Exchange:
RST and NC county, ARRL/RAC section, or DX prefix. QSO Points: phone -
2 pts, CW - 3 pts, NC mobile - 3 pts (either mode). Score: NC stations
- QSO points x NC counties + ARRL/RAC sections + 1 DXCC entity, others
- QSO points x NC counties (max 100). 50 bonus points for working
Cherokee or Dare counties (150 for working both) and 50 points for
working W4NC or W4WS (150 points for both). Mobiles add 100 bonus
points for each NC county activated. For more information:
http://www.w4nc.com/. Logs due April 1 to henry@summitschool.com or NC
QSO PARTY c/o W2DZO, 934 Franklin Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101
Mississippi QSO Party - CW/Phone - sponsored by the Vicksburg Amateur
Radio Club, 1500Z Feb 28 -- 0300Z Feb 29. Frequencies (MHz): CW -
3.545, 7.045, 14.045, 21.045, 28.045; Phone - 3.862, 7.238, 14.275,
21.375, 28.375. Work stations once per mode. Categories: Fixed Station
and Mobile. Mobiles may be worked again as they change counties.
Exchange: RST and MS county or S/P/C. QSO Points: phone - 1 pts, CW -
2 pts. Score: QSO points x MS counties or S/P/C. For more information:
w5xx@vicksburg.com. Logs due April 27 to Vicksburg ARC, 14 Lake Circle
Dr, Vicksburg, MS 39180.
High Speed CW Contest - sponsored by High-Speed CW Club, 0900Z - 1100Z
and 1500Z - 1700Z Feb 29. Frequencies: 80 - 10 meters. Categories: SO
(150 W max, members and non-members), SO-QRP (<5 W), SWL. Exchange:
RST and HSC member number or "NM". QSO Points: member - 5 pts,
non-member - 1 pts. Score: QSO points. Logs due April 11 to
hsc-contest@dl3bzz.de or Lutz Schröer DL3BZZ, Am Niederfeld 6, 35066
Frankenberg / Eder, Germany.
Spartan Sprint - CW - sponsored by the Adventure Radio Society from
0200Z - 0400Z Mar 4 (Monday evening in the U.S.). Held on the first
Monday of every month. Frequencies (MHz): 3.560, 7.040, 14.060,
21.060, 28.060 (QRP calling frequencies). Categories: SO. Exchange:
RST, S/P/C, and power output. Score: "Skinny" division--total QSOs /
total station weight, "Tubby" division--total QSOs. For more
information:
http://www.arsqrp.com/ars/pages/spartan_sprints/ss_rules_new.html.
Logs due on Wednesday after the contest via the ARS Web site or to
hjohnc@core.com.
ARRL International DX Contest - Phone - 0000Z Mar 6 - 2400Z Mar 7
Frequencies: 160 - 10 meters. Categories: SOSB, SOAB (HP >150W, LP,
QRP <5W), MS, M2, MM. Exchange: RST + State or Province or Power (KH6
and KL7 count as DX). QSO Points: 3 pts/QSO. Score: QSO points x DXCC
entities (DX counts states + provinces). For more information:
http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules. Logs due 6 Apr to dxphone@arrl.org
(Cabrillo format only) or DX CW, ARRL, 225 Main St., Newington, CT
06111.
DARC 10-Meter Digital "Corona" - RTTY/AMTOR/PACTOR/PSK31/Clover,
sponsored by Deutscher Amateur Radio Club from 1100Z -- 1700Z Mar 2.
Frequencies (MHz): 28.050-28.150, work stations once per mode.
Categories: SO, SWL. Exchange: RST + serial number. QSO Points: 1
pt/QSO. Score: QSO points × DXCC entities + WAE countries + JA/VE/W
call districts (all counted only once). For more information:
http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/. Logs due 4 weeks after the contest to
df5bx@darc.de or Werner Ludwig, DF5BX, PO Box 1270, D-49110
Georgsmarienhuette, Germany.
Open Ukraine RTTY Championship - sponsored by the Ukrainian Amateur
Radio League (UARL) from 2200Z Mar 6 - 0159Z Mar 7 (Low Bands - 160
and 80 meters - two separate 2 hour periods) and 0800Z - 1159Z Mar 7
(High Bands 40 - 10 meters). Categories: SOAB, SOSB, and MO. Exchange:
Two letter regional abbreviation (see Web site) and serial number.
Start serial numbers over for High Band portion. QSO Points: 2 pts/QSO
and 10 pts for each new region. For more information:
http://uarl.com.ua/oprttych2004eng.htm. Logs due by 7 Apr to
krs@model.poltava.ua or George Ignatov UT1HT, PO Box 87,
Kremenchug-21, Ukraine, 39621.
VHF CONTESTS
EU EME Contest - any mode - sponsored by DUBUS and REF, 0000Z Mar 6 -
2400Z Mar 7. Frequencies: 432 MHz, 2.3 to 5.7 GHz (144 MHz, 1.3 and 10
GHz on Mar 27 - 28) Categories: Single and Multi-band, QRP, QRO, Pro -
based on ERP and equipment. Exchange: callsigns TMO/RST and "R" (same
as ARRL EME Contest). QSO Points: 144/432/1.3 - 100 pts for random, 10
pts for scheduled QSO, 2.3 GHz and higher - 100 pts/QSO. Score: QSO
Points (x2 for QSOs at 2.3 GHz and above) x DXCC entities and US
states from random QSOs (or any QSOs at 2.3 GHz and above). For more
information: http://www.dubus.org/ or info@dubus.de. Logs due 30 days
after the contest to f6hye@ref-union.org or Patrick Magnin, F6HYE,
Marcorens, F-74140 Ballaison, France.
NEWS & PRESS RELEASES
The ARRL Contest Desk reports that June VHF QSO Party plaques have
been shipped. They are waiting for delivery of an order of DX Contest
plaques in order to finish shipping the 2003 back orders. (Thanks, Dan
N1ND)
NCJ News (by NCJ Editor Carl K9LA) - The March/April issue of NCJ
should start arriving in mailboxes in the first week of March. The
cover of this issue features Paul K5AF's "Contesting on a Budget"
column. This issue also gets us thinking about our antennas: Al K3LC
tells us how to make a 4-square fire in eight directions, Mike K9MK
details his 6m stack for the VHF contests, Al K3LC follows up with an
article showing the optimum number of buried radials for a
quarter-wave vertical, and Eric K3NA continues with Part 5 of his
Antenna Interactions series. John K3MD remembers Field Days of the
past, and Jim N3BB and Michael BD5RV relate their IARU HF contest
adventures. Rounding out this issue are several other short features,
along with regular columns by John WA9ALS (RTTY Contesting), Gary W9XT
(CTT&T), Brian K7RE (Contesting for Fun), Carl K9LA (Propagation), and
Jon N0JK (VHF-UHF Contesting).
It was nice to hear LT1F back on the air this weekend after the
station's destruction at the hands of a tornado in November. Way to
go, amigos!
Two great ham radio stories made the airwaves this week. The first
told tales of romance between telegraph and CW operators. You can
listen to the program by browsing on over to
http://www.nextbigthing.org/ and searching for "Love on the Wire." The
second on the new Morse Code symbol for @ - the prosign AC - featured
Rick N1RL and was titled "Morse Code Enters Cyber Age". You can listen
to Rick at http://www.npr.org/ under "Audio Archives."
Array Solutions has a new product that will allow a single amplifier
to be shared between two radios. If the amp is an automatic
band-switching type the "AmpMaster" supplies full-power SO2R
capability while allowing each radio to listen on the selected antenna
at all times. Complete information including some application drawings
is available at
http://www.arraysolutions.com/transcoswitch.htm#top%20of%20page.
Another new product, the Slipp-Nott(r) has been announced by
Productivity Resources. It's a high-friction clamp for rotator/mast
and antenna/mast connections. If you have trouble with your aluminum
farm moving in the wind when it's not supposed to, check out
http://www.consultpr.com/SNSSpecs.htm.
N3FJP has released an upgrade to his contest software to support the
Mid-Atlantic QSO Party, coming up on May 8th and 9th. Check out
Scott's software at http://www.n3fjp.com/.
Tennadyne, a designer and manufacturer of Log-Periodic Dipole Array
antennas for Amateur Radio, MIL and Commercial markets has been
acquired by Roger Greenfield, WB8NDC, of Alto, MI, and that all
operations have been moved there. New contact numbers for Tennadyne
are 616.868.9907; mail: PO Box 352, Alto, MI 49302 and by
e-mail; tennadyne@charter.net.
Thomas KN4LF contributes news of a new propagation prediction program.
"I want to share with the global DX/contesting community a very handy
piece of MF/HF propagation prediction software that I have been
evaluating for a while. It is made by G4ILO who is a professional
program designer." Tom reports that the program is pretty accurate and
can be downloaded at http://www.qsl.net/g4ilo/hfprop.html. If you like
the program, a donation would be appreciated. Tom also runs the highly
regarded http://www.hfradio.orgWeb/ site.
Dick N6AA relayed an interesting article from the Denver Post about
serious birding - in case you thought radio contesters had obsessions
-
http://denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E28%257E1923542,00.html?search=filter.
It should sound familiar to those of us that chase DX now and then.
Dick is a pretty serious birder, himself.
With the aim of encouraging new contesters, the RSGB has introduced a
series of 90-minute contests on weekday evenings based around club
competition - the more members a club gets to come on the air, the
better they can score. Although 80-meter propagation will likely keep
US hams from participating, this type of contest might be interesting
to run here in North America. The all-new RSGB HF contest Web site
http://www.rsgbhfcc.org/ has the full rules. (Thanks, Dave G4BUO)
RESULTS AND RECORDS
The complete lists of Logs Received for the 2003 ARRL 10-Meter and
2004 RTTY Roundup contests have been posted at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/claimed/. This includes both electronic
and paper submissions. If you find an error or your entry is not
listed, please contact Dan N1ND at n1nd@arrl.org. The Straight Key
Night writeup is also available to ARRL members and will be opened to
the general public when published in QST.
Ken K5KA has done a great job of updating the IARU HF Championship
records through the 2003 contest at
http://www.arrl.org/contests/records/iaru.html. There are quite a
number of zone categories for which no entry has been recorded. This
should be an incentive for some enterprising groups to try a new
category!
If you entered the 27th AP-Sprint held on the 14 Feb, the
email-received log was not recorded for a couple of days due to server
problems. Please check the logs-received list at
http://jsfc.org/apsprint/ to be sure that your emailed log was
received. (Thanks, Tack JE1CKA)
Alex OM6SA reports that the results of the 2003 Low-Power Sprint can
be viewed at
http://www.hamradio.sk/KVpreteky/vysledky/03/jarny_sprint_smv.htm.
Uwe DL8KCG announces that the results of the 2003 International Police
Association Radio Club contest are available on-line at the IPARC
homepage - http://www.iparc.de/.
TECHNICAL & TECHNIQUE
Are in the throes of preparing your contest log for submission and
wondering about what to do with duplicate QSOs? If you are submitting
a Cabrillo-format log, you don't have to do anything with them at all!
One of the best features of the Cabrillo format is that you just leave
dupes in the log. As long as EITHER of the QSOs matches in both logs,
no penalty should be incurred by the log-checking software.
How loud are you? You can get the answer on-line at
http://www.smeter.net/ if you have a "low latency" Internet
connection. The site features a Kenwood R-5000 receiver that is
remotely controllable via a Web interface. Now you can give yourself
the old "ten count." I don't suppose it will ever tire of comparing
Antenna A to Antenna B. (Thanks, Doug K1DG)
Putting up a low-band vertical of aluminum irrigation piping seems
like a great idea until the mechanical details need to be worked out.
Luckily for us all, Rick N6RK has documented his adventures in
constructing a 90-foot version. The antenna can even be raised and
lowered by one person. The construction process is described,
including photos, at http://www.n6rk.com/irrigation.html. (Thanks, Rys
SP5EWY)
And to cut down on corrosion between the aluminum piping joints, an
oxidation-preventing compound is needed. Penetrox and Noalox are
well-known and Ron KL7XL contributes another product, Contax. Ron
works in the electric power industry and says that the linemen on his
crew use the CTB8 formulation. Look for Contax from local distributors
such as Grainger or Graybar.
Trying to get a line through a long piece of conduit without a pull
wire or rope is vexing at best, impossible at worst. Here's a good
idea - tie a plastic bag, such as a bread sack, to a piece of cord
that is long enough, plus some, for the length of the run. Use a shop
vacuum to suck the plastic bag through the pipe. Tie a stick to the
line so that you don't watch the cord vanish into the pipe and the
vacuum. Once you're ready to pull the actual cable, don't forget some
lubricant, referred to as "slickum" by knowledgeable electricians.
(Thanks, Jim KA0VSL)
Supporting a heavy mast laden with antennas is a problem. If you are
using a thrust bearing, you may be surprised to learn that the
bearing's set screws are not intended to support weight, only to
center the mast. Given that some of the masts in use are pretty heavy,
even without antennas, how are you supposed to hold all the weight?
Gene AD3F uses a pair of face-to-face muffler clamps on the mast that
rest on the top surface of the bearing. Instead of the U-bolt that
came with each, Gene used two long carriage bolts or all-thread rod to
hold them together around the mast. Phil KB9CRY also reminds us to use
stainless steel clamps and bolts so that rusting is avoided.
CONVERSATION
In Passing
It would be difficult for me to add significantly to the wonderful
testimonials of friendship posted on behalf of Jim White K4OJ after
his most untimely passing last week. From all corners, the stories and
observations rolled in, day after day. If wealth is measured in
friends, then Bill Gates has nothing on OJ. Permit me to ramble a bit
in reflection.
Jim was not the only one to have lately entered the ranks of the
Silent Keys, but his demise caused many to take keyboard in hand and
strike a few capitals in his honor. Others knew him better, but I
think it's fair for me to say that it's because Jim exemplified many
individual qualities that we all value.
Enthusiastic? Who more? If there was a club to be formed, a contest to
be managed, or a station to be built, then Jim was involved. That kind
of approach to life rubs off on everyone in the neighborhood, to the
betterment of all. Roll up your shirtsleeves and get busy!
Generous? To a fault. We all get the same twenty-four hours in a day
to spend as we like, don't we? Jim chose to spend his being generous
with his time, compliments, suggestions, and observations while being
equally stingy with the grouching, complaining, and gossip. Would that
we all do the same.
Friendly? Ask any of the newcomers to the Florida Contest Group. Ask
anybody that happened upon the Dayton contest suite scene. Jim had a
keen understanding of what it means to welcome and be welcomed. We're
all here today because someone like Jim welcomed us into ham radio.
Pass it on, OK?
He was one of "us" in many ways - either by camaraderie or by example
- and when we lose one like Jim...well, it sets you back. On the other
hand, if we reflect on those very qualities and resolve to carry them
on ourselves then ham radio and the world at large will be a better
place.
Mom Ellen W1YL, thanks so much for sharing your Jamie (and Bob) with
us. There will never be a time when I hear a "K4..." call in the
pileup and don't think of Jim. We depend on the enthusiasm,
generosity, and friendship of the other Jims sprinkled around ham
radio to keep it going. In closing, I'll paraphrase from the DX Hall
of Fame nomination for Jim's dad, Bob White W1CW. "If you listen to
the bands on any contest weekend, there you will find Jim." See ya,
OJ.
73, Ward N0AX
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Contester's Rate Sheet wishes to acknowledge information from the
following sources:
WA7BNM's Contest Calendar Web page -
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/ ARRL Contest page -
http://www.arrl.org/contests/
SM3CER's Web site - http://www.sk3bg.se/contest/
Page last modified: 04:29 AM, 06 Dec 2008 ET
Page author: rate-sheet@arrl.org
Copyright © 2008, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
